More Love Back to School Sale

SURPRISE!!! It's a one day BACK TO SCHOOL sale! Thank you TPT!
www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Gena-Mcwilliams

Back to School with Harriet Tubman and the Shoo Fly Quilt

The Harriet Tubman Museum in Macon, Ga is absolutely gorgeous! It was finally finished this year and I finally went in to see it today. OMG is it GORGEOUS!!! I am so proud that my hometown has such a beautiful museum.  Be sure to go upstairs. There are rooms with inventions that blacks have made, a huge mural one of our prominent black artists made depicting black heritage in Macon ( I have personal story to tell about this artist too) and in the Harriet Tubman room there are not only documents about the life and times of Harriet Tubman but one can view actual real nationally known artists work. Some of the artists I remember and have taught my students are john Biggers, Elizabeth Catlett, Jacob Lawrence, and William Johnson.

In another room downstairs for Georgia black artists I got to see art work by the Dot Man who was featured in an article published in an issue of School Arts magazine when I first started teaching art. I was so excited!! It’s quite exciting to me to see the actual real artwork!

Another artist I must mention is Wini McQueen. She is one of our local black artists who mainly works in fabric, dying and using photographs in her pieces. She was commissioned by the Tubman to create banners and quilts depicting the history of the black people in Georgia and they are hung in the rotunda.

As sad as the past is let us all remember so it won’t be repeated.

Check out my arts integration lesson on the Shoo Fly quilt. Legend says it helped the blacks in their flight on the Underground Railroad: 

www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Shoo-Fly-Art-music-math-shapes-review-for-back-to-school-972741

Back To School Sale

It will be here soon!! Back to School Sale at Teachers Pay Teachers!! www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/Gean-Mcwilliams

Christmas in July Sale for back to school

Hey Y'all! I'm having a Christmas in July Sale 10% off my back to school and beginning art projects!
WHEN? July 26-28. WHERE? www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/Gena-Mcwilliams
Here are a couple examples:

Fun Activities for Grandparents to do with their Grands

Summers are too short in my county. The children get out of public school at the end of May but they will be back in school the first week in August. A week in June is set for a vacation with one parent and the grandparents and another week in July is for vacation with the other parent and the other grandparents. Whew! With only3 weeks in June and July there isn’t much point in doing an enrichment camp, particularly since their school does an excellent job with providing plenty of enrichments during the school year.

My grands went to Camp GaGa (their name for me!) While at Camp GaGA, they have made a rocket ship, a pirate ship, a vending machine, a “ball” room, and now paper bag puppets. They have drawn landscapes and birds in their sketchbooks.  They studied science and wild life studies by catching fireflies at night, moths, and tiny baby tree frogs, put in jars with holes for air to breathe, and let go back into nature before going to bed.  They watched a pair of hawks soaring and hunting in the front yard and a fawn running all over the yard. The hummingbirds have been plenty!

While at two beaches there were sandcastles to learn how to build and tiny fish to hand catch in the tidal pools. Hermit crabs were found in seashells.  This grandmother had to hold a small jar of water with a conch shell and a hermit crab named Fred while the grands’ mother went in a store to learn how to take care of it. We did have to put Fred back onto the wild beach!

Camp GaGa  is coming to a fast end. Now is the time to review reading skills and number skills to get ready for back to school. Don’t forget those sight words, too!

Here is a  photo of the art we made at Camp GaGa!

How to Draw a Bird

Our elementary and preschools are teaching the recognition of geometric shapes. Art teachers also teach looking for shapes to draw and paint. Some art teachers have children put on their “shape” eyes when looking at an object to draw or paint.

Parents, grandparents, child keepers help reinforce children’s learning of shapes in school. The following is an example of one of my interactions with my grandson.

Yesterday Bishop sat in front of our picture window and said he wanted to draw a bird. He had gotten his sketchbook out and his crayons.

Bishop asked, “ GaGa, will you help me draw a bird?”

Me: “First draw an oval.”

 He did.

“Next draw a circle for the head.”

He did.

“Draw triangles for the wings.”

 He did.

“Draw another one for the tail.”

He did.  He added the legs, eyes, and beak without directions from me. He also added the limb and the tree on his own and colored it!

For another directed drawing lesson click here:

www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Drawing-with-Beginners-398360

Directing children to draw using lines and shapes not only reinforces math concepts of geometric shapes that are taught in school but also demystifies the act of drawing for some.

Mizz Mac has taught children's art for over 25 years and sells art projects and art lesson plans on her store:

www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/Gena-Mcwilliams

Worst Day Camp Ever!!!

Last summer my all little boy grandson went to a half day camp and had a good time. Yes there were typical little boy behavior issues with his five year old attention span but there were two teachers in charge with some teenagers as helpers.

This year he and his little sister attended the same camp. The difference was there was only one teacher in charge of 30 kids with a handful of teen-agers as helpers and one non-teacher adult helper.  The camp was the same format and the boy was totally bored. His little sister wasn’t accepted by the other little girls on her row since she didn’t go to their school. I guess there wasn’t a way for her to make friends with others in the camp! From the lips of a five year old “All we do is sit, sing, sit, snack, and sit some more and wait on our parents to come. It’s been a total waste!”

So my grandmotherly advice is this:                                                                                                              

1.       Please make sure there is an adequate number of adults in charge even after you have paid your money!

2.       Make sure the adults are experienced at handling children and won’t start a battle of wills because children will win every time!

3.       Make sure the adults are trained to spot bullying tactics and will not allow it to happen.

4.       Ask lots of questions before signing the child up even if the child went to the same camp the year before.

By the way I have many years of teaching and creating a fun camp for my students with an adult teacher helper. Our goal was to make sure each child had a good learning experience, made friends with others in the camp, and had a good time. We also limited the number and ages of students we would have in our camp.  Mizz Mac